PCs with recent Intel CPUs cannot play UHD Blu-rays via PowerDVD

PowerDVD users may not be able to play UHD Blu-rays if they choose to do so on a PC with Intel 11th and current 12th generation processors, i.e. Rocket Lake and Alder Lake. This is related to the removal of security feature SGX by Intel.

Cyberlink, the company behind the widely used PowerDVD software to play DVDs and Blu-rays, writes on its website that a security feature called Intel Software Guard Extensions is required for the CPU and motherboard firmware to process the DRM-protected content on the UHD. blu-rays on a Windows platform.

This Intel SGX feature has been removed from 11th generation CPUs. That means that support for UHD Blu-ray playback may disappear. This could be limited to software like PowerDVD as it is one of the authorized software players for playing protected 4k discs. This program uses SGX for this.

Other playback software tools that don’t use SGX are likely to work flawlessly and it seems to be limited to PCs with the Intel CPUs mentioned. Intel SGX is not necessarily the standard for protecting the content on UHD Blu-rays; HDCP 2.2, AACS 2.0 and sometimes AACS 2.1 are also used for this.

Users with older platforms who wish to continue using the 4k drives are advised by Cyberlink to continue using 7th through 10th generation Intel Core i processors, as well as the corresponding motherboards that support Intel SGX. It is also advised not to update the OS and related Intel drivers to avoid uninstalling Intel SGX. An update to Windows 11 is specifically not recommended.